Standing By You
by Tabbyluna
Summary: It was finally time for Whirlwind to do something important in her life. Come out of the closet. With some support from Spotlight, hopefully she'll be able to do it.


Whirlwind sighed.

Spotlight blinked.

Whirlwind wanted to say something.

So did Spotlight.

Neither of them did. Whirlwind moved her claw closer to her laptop, but moved it away at the last minute. She bit her lip, a sure sign that she was nervous. Once again, she sighed.

"You don't have to do this now, you know. You can take your time. Do it when you're ready." Spotlight moved her claw to Whirlwind's shoulder. It was a safe, if sterile thing to say. But Spotlight thought it was one of the best she could do.

As the first person Whirlwind confessed her sexuality too, she felt both honoured that she was considered that trustworthy, and simultaneously nervous at the same time. It would be difficult to say that she fully empathised with Whirlwind. She knew how she felt, but she could not feel what she felt. Most of her journey as a straight ally had been spent thinking about what the right course of action would be. Her heart wanted to tell Whirlwind to be proud and own who she was. But her mind suggested telling a safer statement. Especially for someone like Whirlwind. She was raised on forbidden relationships. She of all people would understand the consequences of following one's heart.

Whirlwind nodded, but it was obvious that she was still reluctant to leave the desk. So she sat there, wings fidgeting and claws drumming on her laptop. Spotlight stayed by her side. After some time, she felt a little thirsty, so she stood to get a glass of water. But when she returned, she found Whirlwind already typing the password of her laptop down.

"Spotlight, this morning I promised myself that I would tell my parents I'm bi. And you know what, screw what I think. Screw what I'm afraid of. Screw everything. I. Am. Telling. Them. Today." Whirlwind pressed the 'enter' key, and her rainbow wallpaper loaded onto the screen.

Spotlight was a little taken aback at the crudeness of her language. She had only known of Whirlwind talking like that when she was especially angry or frightened. Whirlwind had told her she was bisexual a year ago. And she knew she had probably been sitting on that realisation for longer than that. Letting Whirlwind stew in her feelings usually leads to explosive reactions. Fear and anger especially. All things considered, Whirlwind was going through this whole thing better than Spotlight thought she would.

Slowly, Whirlwind brought the clicker to 'SkyTime'. For a brief moment, she hesitated, as if contemplating whether or not this is the right time to be doing it. Her claw moved up and down her mouse, without actually clicking it. She bit her lip.

Then she gritted her teeth, and pressed down her mouse hard. Spotlight rejoined her at the desk, and watched her type 'mom and dad' in the contacts search-bar. The minute they showed up, she clicked it as quickly as she could, and released a breath she had been holding. There was silence between the two dragons while the room was filled with the ringing sound of the dial tone. Whirlwind had her eyes transfixed onto the screen, and Spotlight kept her eyes on Whirlwind. Her almost-vertical posture and focused expression seemed to indicate confidence, but she could tell, from the way her tail twitched and wings flapped, that she was utterly nervous.

Still, no going back now.

Whirlwind gave her parents a big toothy grin and a cheerful "Hey Mom and Dad!" When they picked up.

"Hi, dear. Long time no see! How's the Skylander life going? Who's seated next to you?" Went the unicorn, her father.

"Oh, it's going great, as usual. This is Spotlight, she's been around for a while now, but I don't think you've met her before."

"Hey, Whirlwind's Mom and Dad." Spotlight waved at them, sporting a sheepish grin.

"Well, hello Spotlight. Please, you can call me Tempest," said Whirlwind's mom, a large feathered dragon. "And this is my husband, Stormee."

"Hello!" Said Stormee, in a funny voice.

They chuckled together, like any happy family would. On their side of the screen, Spotlight could see Whirlwind's tail twitching about. A telltale sign that she was still nervous. She placed an arm around her. Whirlwind could be articulate when she tries, but the best way to let her know you cared was to show her.

Whirlwind sucked in her breath, then let it out. As if she were letting the tangled in her stomach unknot themselves. The current tone was simultaneously comforting and torturous for her. She eyed Spotlight's glass of water enviously, wishing she had something to quench the growing dryness of her mouth, her tongue, her throat. In her head, potential future outcomes buzzed around the coming-out speech she had memorised beforehand. What would happen after she told them? Will they accept her? Will they reject her? Or will they merely "accept" her, they was someone tolerates the noisy bird outside their bedroom in the mornings? Will the outcome be worse than she could imagine, or better…

"Is something the matter Whirlwind?" Her mother asked. They knew their daughter well. Her body language was practically a second language to her parents. Whirlwind nodded, then took in a second deep breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But Mom, Dad, there's something I want to talk to you guys about."

"Alright, we're listening." Tempest and Stormee faced their daughter. Eyes attentive and ears ready to listen. Spotlight found Whirlwind's claw, and Whirlwind gratefully squeezed it.

"Right. So, I'd been thinking about this for… quite a while now. Like for a very, very long time. And I'd made peace with it for quite some time already. But, I think it's only fair if I tell you two. Mom, Dad, I… am attracted to women."

For a moment, there was silence. Whirlwind held her breath, and Spotlight found herself unsure of where to put her arm. Should she still let it hang around Whirlwind's shoulder, or should she give her friend her space? Her question was answered by Whirlwind, who squeezed her claw even harder. It kind of hurt, but she knew Whirlwind needed the physical touch. She bit her lip, feeling the suspense alongside Whirlwind.

Tempest moved first. She cleared her throat, and placed her claws together. For a moment, the two younger dragons had no idea what to expect. Then Tempest smirked at the two of them, and snapped her fingers at Stormee. "Pay up, sucker."

"What?!" Whirlwind's eyes widened and her jaw slackened.

"I knew it all along, dear. That you were a lesbian. Your dear father over here thought that you were straight, but it seems that I'm right this time." Tempest smiled as Stormee reluctantly placed a medium-sized emerald into her outstretched claw. "Thank you, dear."

"But Mom, the thing is, you're both kind of wrong," said Whirlwind, rubbing the back of her neck.

"What do you mean?"

"When I said that I liked women, it didn't mean that I didn't like men. I'm bisexual." She grinned. This turned out better than she thought it would.

Both her parents stood there, wide-eyed with their mouths in an 'o' shape. But before Whirlwind could worry about any potential prejudice, they nodded at each other. As if they had discovered an answer that was right in front of them the whole time. "Well, sweetie. When you put it that way, suddenly a lot of things made perfect sense."

"You guys are okay with that?" She asked, letting go of Spotlight's claw.

"Of course we would be, dear," said Stormee. "Why wouldn't we love our daughter for who she is? We raised her after all. We should be the ones who know her best."

"And besides, we would be total hypocrites of we said that someone couldn't love another based on arbitrary details, don't you think?" Tempest held Stormee hoof tenderly, smiling at both him and her daughter.

Whirlwind felt over the moon. As if a huge burden had been lifted from her back. She felt like spreading out her wings and flying. Flying freely in the big blue sky and creating a huge rainbow, as far as the eye could see. She smiled, relieved and touched, at her parents. "You're right. It was kinda dumb of me to assume otherwise."

"Now, dear, don't say that."

"Just remember that no matter what you do, and no matter who you end up with, if you want to settle down with anyone at all, we'll always be right behind you. Supporting you all the way."

Whirlwind could have cried right then and there, but she managed a small "Thank you. I love you Mom and Dad." before they ended the call together. Then she turned to face Spotlight, and allowed her tears of joy to flow down her face.

"I can't believe I finally did it!" She squeed, holding Spotlight's claws tightly in her own.

"But you did!" Smiled Spotlight. "This is great Whirlwind! You did it!"

"I did it!" Whirlwind wiped her tears away with her arms, and stretched her previously folded wings out. "Thank you so much for standing with me Spotlight! I couldn't have gone this far without you." She wrapped Spotlight with her wings, pulling her into a warm hug.

"Oh, it's no problem. Just supporting you however I can." Spotlight smiled into her shoulder.

"Oh the Ancients! I feel like flying now!" Whirlwind flapped her wings, the smile on her face growing bigger and bigger. "You want to join me?"

Spotlight smiled, and spread her own wings out. "Of course I do."


End file.
